


Red

by poramarte



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - The 100 (TV) Fusion, Cannibalism, Character Death, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:20:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27035590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poramarte/pseuds/poramarte
Summary: He won the Conclave, he won the bunker and everyone looked at him like he’s expected to lead Wonkru, so he did. Taeyong said the time of the Commanders was over and he’d be damned if he let some skinny kid from Azgeda take Wonkru from him just because his blood was black.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Red

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guy!
> 
> First things first TRIGGER WARNING: major character death and talks about cannibalism for survival
> 
> I wasn't exactly sure how to tag this fic, so I didn't really. I have been working on this since like July (more like I worked on it in July and didn't pick it back up till a few days ago). I have been kind of going back and forth about posting this, because it is a bit different then anything I've previous posted (alot darker) and I'm not sure if there are even any 'The 100' fans in Ncity, but for the potential few there are, here you go.
> 
> If you're not a 'The 100' fan, as a warning you probably need to have some knowledge about the show to read this, there are things that I did not explain that would be common knowledge if you watched the show. There are also spoilers in this from season 1-5 so read at your own discretion unless you don’t really care about spoilers.
> 
> Most of the stuff mentioned in this fic is heavily based on season 4-5, although I have changed a few things and therefore don’t expect this to be exactly the same as the world of The 100 but most things do stay the same, but the most notable change is that Skaikru/Spacekru hasn’t come down so they are therefore irrelevant in this fic, I also have only watched the show and not read the books so I’m basing this fic on the show not the books. 
> 
> The Grounders speak a language called Trig and here are some terms you may need to know-  
> Blodheda- Red Commander (I made this one up)  
> Natblida- Nightblood  
> Heda-Commander  
> Praimfaya- Death Wave (used to refer to a Nuclear Apocalypse)  
> Kom- from  
> Ai gonplei ste odon- My fight is over  
> Yu gonplei nou ste odon- Your fight is not over  
> If you're still here, Happy Reading!

How Johnny really expected him to believe that a kid had gone 19 years without bleeding once was beyond him, but _Azgeda_ had always been sneaky, lying scoundrels and he expected nothing less of the Prince of _Azgeda_. 

“What do you expect me to do with this information?” He asked and Johnny had the audacity to laugh, like he hadn’t killed Johnny's mother in front of him for refusing to join Wonkru, but it had always been rumored the people were made of ice too in _Azgeda_. 

“Mark is a Nightblood,” Johnny said like it made a difference. 

“Your point is what exactly?” He raised an eyebrow and Johnny grimaced. He wasn’t going to make this easy for the buffoon, he didn’t care if the kid was a Nightblood, they had all agreed the time of the Commanders was over and _Azgeda_ hiding a Nightblood wasn’t going to change anything.

“Mark can take the flame,” Johnny said.

“And what do you wish to accomplish?” He asked stepping closer to Johnny and Johnny took a step back. It brought a smile to his face to see ice melt. “Let’s say Mark takes the flame. You expect him to be Commander when he didn’t earn it, when a Conclave wasn’t held?”

“Well he has the blood, it's our peoples tradition-”

“It's also our peoples tradition to report a Nightblood to the Flamekeepers. Need I remind you that this isn’t the first time your people hide a Nightblood just to get an edge on the competition,” he spat out and Johnny had the audacity to look smug. “You hid Mark when you could have offered him up for the Final Conclave, shit, maybe he could have even taken the flame then and offered us the ‘Wisdom of the Commanders’, but you wait until we have everything under control for your little _Natblida_ to swoop in and pretend that he united the clans when he didn’t.”

“We didn’t know-” Johnny tried to lie and it irritated him to no end that some people don’t respect him despite the fact that he saved them from death, when he could have let _Azgeda_ burn in the radiation.

“Oh Johnny, tell your lies to some other fool. You expect me to believe that after all this time as a warrior, your boy hadn’t gotten a single cut? Blasphemy is punishable by death.” He reminded Johnny. 

“I don’t think your people would agree if they knew Mark was a nightblood,” Johnny had the audacity to smirk and if it didn’t mean _Azgeda_ getting mad and potentially rioting, he probably would have sliced Johnny's head off. Some loyalties were harder to break but with time, he was sure ‘ _Azgeda_ ’ wouldn’t recognize their prince.

“Well that’s where you're wrong _Prince_ Johnny, if my people did know, that would mean I would, in fact, have to kill you. You’ve lied to all of us by omission and have disgraced the lives lost in the Final Conclave, if we would have had the Wisdom of the Commanders then maybe we wouldn’t have had to sacrifice so many lives,” he spat out.

Johnny's jaw tightened and the Nightblood avoided his gaze when he looked at him and he almost wanted to laugh, what kind of warrior was afraid of a little face paint. But the Nightblood had always been squeamish.

"Nonetheless I'll entertain you. Your _Natblida_ can ascend if he dares to challenge me and wins. I'm not going to give up Wonkru to someone who doesn't deserve it."

" _Blodheda_ ," Taeyong let out. "Please think about what you're saying."

"I have," he said solemnly. " _Johnny kom Wonkru_ has called me and my union weak, if he has a better leader for Wonkru, he is free to challenge me."

\---

When he was little, he dreamt of becoming the Commander of the 12 Clans, he dreamt of being a Nightblood, but that's all that it had ever really been, a dream. 

When he was little, he thought that one day he would scrape his knee or cut himself and his blood would magically be black and not the ordinary red of the other kids. He dreamt of running to Taeyong and telling him that he was a Nightblood and a scout being sent to get him to prepare to fight in the next conclave. 

When he was little he dreamt of a lot of things, but a lot of his dreams were shattered when Jisung was picked up by the scouts instead of him. Jisungs blood had never been red and it overwhelmed him in a way that was suffocating and by the time he was old enough to realize what it truly meant to be the Commander, Jisung was already dead and a new Commander had ascended. 

The thing was, Commanders didn't last long, they ascended young and they died young and he never understood how that could be if the new Commanders had all the wisdom of the previous Commanders on their sides. He didn’t understand a lot of things about the Commanders, but traditions weren’t to be questioned, at least not when it wasn’t convenient to the Grounders. 

The thing was, it was never his intention to rule, he had long given up that dream, neither was it his intention to share the bunker, especially when _Azgeda_ sent a spy to assassinate him. 

He did what many believed a true Commander would have done, he put the needs of the Coalition over the needs of his own clan and therefore the people saw him as their ‘Commander’. They looked at him like he was supposed to be a leader, so he led and he did something no other Commander could have done, he united the clans, truly united the clans. 

He did the impossible and he wasn’t a Nightblood, he didn’t have the Spirit of the Commanders in him, he wasn’t chosen, but he had proven his worth, had proven that the clans didn’t need a Nightblood to lead them or a Flame to unite them. And Mark the Nightblood, a year older than him, had been nowhere to be seen. 

It was dishonorable really, for Mark to be hiding when he could have ascended, when the Flamekeepers begged for a Nightblood and although _Azgeda_ were sneaky, lying assholes, he hadn’t known them to be cowards and that's what Mark was.

But the thing was, no matter how dishonorable Mark's actions were, he wasn’t sure if his people would follow him if they knew Mark was a Nightblood. Because no matter how many people told him the time of the Commanders was over, he was sure many would jump at the opportunity to have a _Heda_ again.

\---

“ _Mark kom Azgeda_ is here to see you,” Jaemin announced. _Kom Wonkru,_ he whispered under his breath, not loud enough for Jaemin to hear, he couldn’t let the brat know it irritated him. Jaemin would never dare say anything, but Wonkru in public, knowing he could get sentenced to the fighting pit for disrespecting Wonkru, but he wasn’t as strict among his friends, but he knew eventually he would have to be if he wanted Wonkru to last.

“Let him in,” he replied. 

Jaemin opened the door and after what felt like a long time, Mark walked in, the boy stood practically against the wall, as far away from him as possible and to make it worse the kid kept fidgeting. 

“Did you have something to say to me?” He asked the kid once it was obvious he wasn’t going to say anything. 

The kid didn’t answer immediately, instead looking down at his feet and he kind of looked like he was going to cry, but he didn’t say anything. 

“I wanted to apologize,” Mark looked at him and then quickly looked away once they made eye contact. “For my- for Johnny’s behavior.”

“You don’t have to apologize, it was his behavior not yours.” He had given up trying to make eye contact with the kid again and instead walked towards his dresser and started getting ready for the day. “By you still standing there I’m assuming that wasn’t the only thing you had to say. Why are you really here _Natblida?_ ”

“You say it like it's an insult,” Mark accused. It was interesting how clear contempt crossed the kids face before turning into horror at his own outburst and the kid dropped to the ground instantly and bowed. “I didn’t mean to insult you _Blodheda_ , I don’t know what got into me.”

“Get up _Natblida_ ,” the kid got up slowly, like it was a test, he supposed it was warranted given the circumstance. “It's not an insult to be a Nightblood, in my clan we even thought of it as an honor, which is why I’m confused as to why you hid it-”

“I didn’t hide it,” Mark tried to convince him and maybe it would have been fine, but the kid was trying to tell him lies.

“Quiet!” He said, raising his voice. “I don’t care what circumstances led you to hide it, hell, I don’t care if your dead parents were the ones that told you to keep it a secret. I’m not an idiot, so stop trying to lie to me.”

“I’m sorry _Blodheda_ ,” the kid looked down and this time he was sure the kid was actually crying, shit.

“Look _Natblida,_ if you’re looking for sympathy, here is not the place you’ll find it,” he let out a sigh. “Tell me why you’re here and you can be on your way.”

“I truly did want to apologize,” the kid let out through sobs. “I wanted to tell you not to worry. I’m not going to challenge you.”

He raised an eyebrow at the kid and the kid excused himself quickly and bowed deeply at the waist. Something was weird about the kid, but he wasn’t sure what.

\---

He knew everyone in the bunker. 

A hundred of them being his own clan and some of them he met through his many years of being a _Trikru_ warrior, the rest he familiarized himself with because he had to learn who everyone was to be an effective leader in such a small community.

Some he knew more about than others and Mark was one of the ones he knew less about, but that was because nobody really knew much about him to begin with. It was said an _Azgeda_ scout found him on the side of the road abandon, barely a year old, with a suicide note from his parents. 

He had met Mark before, Mark had always been more of a servant than a warrior, let alone a Warrior's Second. Mark was always with the Prince of _Azgeda_ whenever the clans came together to visit Polis to see the Commander. 

Mark rarely wore armor, only when training with the rest of the Seconds, which had been his initial confusion, because Mark rarely trained with them. Despite this, Mark was always fully covered and for the better half of the time he had known of Mark he had truly believed he was Johnny's servant. The warriors of _Azgeda_ were known to be ruthless and cold as the ice of their land, and Mark was none of those things.

Mark was soft, anyone could see that and more often than not Mark would appear frightened by the arguments that would arise between clans. Threats of bloodshed were always thrown around and he would come to realize that perhaps that was what Mark had been afraid of, to be caught in the crossfire and his identity be revealed. 

His first mistake was thinking Mark was soft.

The thing was, he had seen Mark fight, he was ruthless despite being soft, others would rarely land a hit on Mark which is why people didn’t fight Mark to begin with and even if Mark knuckles bleed they had always been fully clothed and he never had a visible spot on him. Mark always protected his face at all cost and the people of _Trikru_ always mocked him, saying it was because Mark was too narcissistic, but now it was evident why, his face was the only part ever exposed, the only place that could be easily cut, not hidden by armor. 

How Mark's behavior never alarmed him before was beyond him, he guessed he just hadn’t been paying attention to the right thing.

What he _had_ thought was weird was that despite Johnny insisting Mark was _Azgeda's_ best warrior, better than any previous Commander from _Azgeda_ , Mark didn’t fight in the Final Conclave. They sent Hendery, a kid he had killed on the second day of the Conclave, a kid that had pleaded for his life, a kid who might have not had to die if Mark had just stopped being a chicken for once.

\---

“He’s playing you,” Jaemin told him.

“Who?” He asked, although he knew exactly what Jaemin was talking about. Jaemin liked to talk after sex and it was such a downfall to their relationship that he honestly just wanted to strangle Jaemin sometimes. Jaemin, more often than not, stressed him out more than he de-stressed him.

“Johnny,” Jaemin said. “He wants you to think Mark is innocent, wants you to let your guard down so Mark can swoop in and tell everyone he’s a Nightblood.”

“I know,” he sighed. Mark had said he wasn’t going to challenge him, Mark may cry and look weak, but anyone who had seen him fight knew otherwise. Mark may not be _Azgeda_ by blood, but he was _Azgeda_ by heart and that also made Mark a lying scumbag. “Did you come to that conclusion on your own or did your dad tell you?”

“We discussed it, I’m not gonna lie, but we both came to the conclusion on our own,” Jaemin said. 

“Well Mr. _Fleimkepa,_ tell me what do you think?” He asked, Jaemins breath caught in his chest and the other bit his lip.

“It’s a load of bullshit,” Jaemin responded weakly, they both knew it wasn't Jaemin’s true sentiments although it would be easier if it was.

“That's what _Jaemin kom Wonkru_ thinks, tell me what _Jaemin de Fleimkepa_ thinks.” Jaemin hesitated and to Jaemin’s defense, he probably would have too if he were in the hot seat.

“Wonkru is strong,” Jaemin started. “And if right now some asshole Nightblood showed up, I don’t think many would follow and Johnny knows that, which is why he told you instead of telling Wonkru.”

“Now those are literally your dad's words.”

“Maybe, but it is my opinion too. Mark is weak, Wonkru sees him as weak and it won’t matter if he has already taken the flame when he presents himself as a Nightblood, it won’t matter if he’s _Azgeda's_ best warrior because he is meek and Wonkru needs a warrior _and_ a leader.”

“That’s not what I’m asking Jaemin, I’m asking for your opinion of having a _Heda_ ,”

“I won’t dream of it.” Jaemins feigned sincerity hurt more than it probably should. He _knew_ Jaemins devotion to the flame, he _knew_ how despite Jaemin’s dad raising Jaemin to be a warrior, Jaemin turned his back to him and their relationship was estranged even now, they were on speaking terms now but now they only spoke about matters related to Wonkru and nothing else. Despite _knowing_ what Jaemin must truly feel about a Nightblood he wasn’t sure if he could handle Jaemin telling him he liked the idea of having a true Commander.

“But you would Jaemin, your dad told you to destroy the flame, but you kept it. You’re waiting for a _Heda_ not a _Blodheda._ ”

“I won’t lie to you,” Jaemin’s jaw tightened. “I felt excited when I heard about the _Natblida_ , but you more than anyone knows that a _Natblida_ doesn’t make a Commander and he’s a coward. The time of the commanders is over.”

“If I asked you to destroy the flame right now, would you?” He asked and Jaemin’s silence was enough of an answer. “Then the time of the commanders isn’t over.”

\---

Mark was everywhere.

He wasn’t sure if it was because before he just didn’t care to notice, but now he felt like he saw Mark anywhere and everywhere. Granted, they were in a cramped bunker and there were only so many places a person could entertain themselves in, but regardless he felt suffocated anytime he saw the kids lanky form. 

He didn’t retreat like he wanted to because he was a warrior and he wasn’t going to let some kid intimidate him into hiding in his own bunker. So he faced the kid even though it was probably the last thing he wanted to do with Mark staring at his face paint like it wasn’t meant to intimidate the kid. The changes in personality were quite frankly annoying, the kid was inconsistent and it was infuriating.

“He’s staring again,” Taeyong told him. “I can go tell him it's rude to stare.”

“No need,” he took a sip from his water. “He’s coming over here.”

“What!” Taeyong whisper yelled and turned his head to look that Mark was indeed approaching their table.

“Mind if I sit here,” Mark asked. It wasn’t exactly forbidden for others to sit with him, but usually only people on the council did. People were scared of him, not without reason and it sucked at times, but someone had to be the bad guy.

“Go ahead,” he said, he brought his items closer to himself and so did Taeyong. Jaemin made eye contact with him across the room and he waved him off. Being anything, but indifferent to Mark would give Johnny an angle and he wasn’t going to give Johnny anything. 

“I’m Mark by the way,” Mark said, introducing himself to Taeyong. At least the kid knew not everything was about him.

“Taeyong,” Taeyong responded bluntly. Mark laughed nervously and he raised an eyebrow.

“Is there a particular reason for your presence?” He asked, nonchalant. 

“Johnny didn’t put me up to this if that’s what you’re asking me.” Mark took a sip of the broth and made a face, the cooks _were_ pretty bad here. “I just thought we could be friends.”

“Friends?” He kept his face neutral, not giving much away to Johnny who was now very obvious starting at their interactions. It looked like Johnny was also shocked to see them talking, but Johnny was also a good actor so there was that.

“Yeah,” Mark said, making eye contact. “You know a secret of mine, I think that's the start of a great friendship.”

“Would your guard dog like that?” He asked, nodding his head in Johnny direction.

“Who? Johnny?” Mark said, not bothering to turn around. “He’s not my _Heda._ ”

“Neither am I,” he said calmly and Mark's fake smile faltered a bit in the corners.

“Your face paint is nice by the way,” Mark complimented, ignoring his statement. “I’ve always wondered if it's actually blood.”

It was a blow and judging by Mark’s face it was meant to sting. He wanted to smack the grin off of Mark’s face, but he couldn’t afford to draw attention to the interaction.

“You were there,” he said bluntly. “What do you think?”

He didn’t wait for Mark's reply and instead got up and decided to eat in his office.

\---

Mark was persistent, purposely approaching him and trying to engage in conversation with him. Most of it consisted of Mark trying to apologize for his question and he ignored the apologies. He didn’t believe in apologies, words didn’t mean anything, only actions did. 

Mark was persistent and when Jaemin announced Mark's presence outside his office, he let him in. 

“I know you’re probably annoyed with me by now, but I really do feel bad about asking you a sensitive question.”

“It wasn’t a sensitive question,” he lied and he didn’t care if Mark saw through it. “It's a symbol and it doesn’t really matter if it's dye or blood or whose blood for that matter.”

“I see,” Mark said quietly. “I guess you might not believe me, especially considering you know the whole Nightblood thing, but I do want to be friends.”

“I don’t have friends,” he said, it wasn’t exactly a lie, he had people he called friends but they weren’t actually close.

“Jaemin?” Mark asked. “Or is he more of a lover?”

“You’re not as nice as you think,” he commented, ignoring the question.

“Friends tease,” Mark shot back with a grin on his face.

“Maybe, but we’re not friends and Jaemin is not a lover. He’s like family,”

“Family you have sex with?” Mark raised an eyebrow and he felt the sudden urge to strangle Mark, but he kind of did walk into that one. 

“One, its none of your business and two, why are so interested in my sex life?”

“Friends talk about love interests,” Mark shrugged.

“Jaemin isn’t a love interest,” he shook his head and Mark let out a chuckle. “He’s convenient and it's fun. Wait, why am I telling you this?”

“Because we’re friends.” Mark smirked at him and he felt the urge to strange Mark intensify.

“We’re not,” he wanted to dismiss Mark, telling him to never come back, but none of it made sense, Mark didn’t make sense. “Where are you getting this confidence from? You literally cried in my bedroom two week ago and now you’re in my office trying to get information on my sex life?”

“The opportunity presented itself,” Mark shrugged. 

“This is not to say I’m saying we’re going to be friends because we are not, but if you’re going to be around, I need your mood to be consistent, you’re giving me a headache,” he told Mark.

Mark smiled and it was perhaps the first time he’d seen the kid genuinely smile or perhaps it was the first time he noticed, but something about the sparkle in Mark's eyes made his heart skip a beat.

\---

“Can I tell you something?” Mark turned to look at him. 

After he had kind of given Mark the green light to hang around him, Mark had gone out of his way to hang out after his kitchen duties (Mark was a horrible cook and how Doyoung hadn’t put in a transfer request for Mark was surprising, then again jobs around the bunker were limited and it wasn’t like they could really put Mark anywhere else). 

They didn’t actually do much hanging out until nighttime, he was after all Wonkru’s leader and for such a small place, there were always problems. Mark for whatever reason liked to hang around him and although he was a bit suspicious at first, there really wasn’t really much he could say that was confidential, the only secret he harbored was Marks and since Mark hadn’t challenged him yet, he figured Mark wasn’t intending to challenge him.

“Sure,” he said. He didn’t think much of the question. Mark told him things all the time, things that were sometimes of no significance and at other times things that were confidential, things that nobody else knew.

“I know you think I’m a coward and I am, but…” Mark said trailing off. He didn’t say anything giving Mark enough to gather himself. “Johnny is my dad.”

“Oh,” he said softly. It made sense, Johnny wouldn’t want his only son to potentially die in a conclave.

“He hid me for the longest time and he just said that as long as I didn’t tell anyone I was a Nightblood I would be okay. I…”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” he assured the older. He wasn’t exactly sure where his sympathy was coming from, but he wasn’t going to look into it too much.

“I know, but I want to,” Mark took a deep breath. “My mom is dead, that much is true, but she's dead because my grandmother killed her. She was _Trishanakru_ and my grandmother killed her because my existence dirtied the bloodline, she was supposed to kill me too, but my dad threatened to kill himself if she did that, so I remained alive. My dad later found out I was a Nightblood and he never told anyone not even my grandmother, my dad told me to be cautious and I was always scared that people would find out.

“I never wanted to be a warrior and my dad never forced me to. And I know it's rich coming from me, but I wasn’t cut out to be a Commander, I could have won what would have been my Conclave, but I don’t think I would have been the best leader, even with the flame.”

“Then why did you become a warrior? You said your dad never forced you,” he asked and Mark grimaced. 

“He thought it was the best way to keep me as close as possible at all times. I never trained with the other warriors so there were always alot of rumors floating around, some worse than the others.”

“Why are you telling me this,” he questioned. 

“I…” Mark looked up at him and he felt his heart stop when Mark's eyes trailed down to his lips. “I’ve never told anyone before, you already know one of my secrets, what another one.”

Mark chuckled softly and he considered it, leaning in, to see Mark’s reaction, but he didn’t, instead he leaned back, away from temptation and if Mark looked disappointed, he didn’t think about it.

\---

“Why Jaemin?” Mark asked. It was an odd question and he was sure he wore his confusion well because Mark exhaled loudly in annoyance that he couldn’t read Mark's mind. “I know you said he was convenient, but there's also Renjun, Lucas and maybe even Jaehyun.” 

“Why are you so obsessed with my sex life?” Mark crossed his arms across his chest and he raised an eyebrow. 

“I told you, friends talk about this kind of thing,” Mark stated matter-of-factly. 

“Oh? Really, then why don’t you ever mention Koeun?” He questioned back, tilting his head and crossing his arms across his chest like Mark had and Mark laughed at his gesture.

“Because you don’t ask and I’m sure you’d be annoyed if I mentioned her,” Mark said and he laughed at Mark’s accusation because he wouldn’t exactly be annoyed if Mark mentioned Koeun.

“I won’t be annoyed,” he replied and Mark scoffed.

“You hate _Azgeda_ ,” Mark commented.

“There is no _Azgeda_ ,” he warned Mark and Mark looked displeased at being scolded. “I tolerate you, I’m not going to give you free passes.”

“I get it, we’re Wonkru, but you can’t act like you weren’t _Trikru_ and I wasn’t _Azgeda_ , it’s part of who we are, we can’t change that because now we’re in a bunker together,” Mark said. 

“You are Wonkru or you are the enemy of Wonkru,” he looked Mark in the eye. “Choose.” 

It wasn’t the first time he gave Mark the choice, the first time had been in the hallway leading to the cafeteria when ‘ _Trikru_ ’ had tried to take control of it. But this time he wasn’t covered in blood, the blood of Wonkru’s enemies and this time he wasn’t sure if he would condemn Mark to death if he did defy him.

“I am Wonkru,” Mark said. And lucky for the both of them, he didn’t have to find out.

\---

He wasn’t sure if love was the way to describe the way he felt for Mark. He liked him, he knew that much, but he had liked many people before, he had even loved one before but it had never felt this way. 

He had wanted to ignore Mark as much as possible, he wanted to ignore Mark’s advances that were cloaked behind an act of friendship. He evaded Mark's questions about Jaemin and yet Mark looked at him with want in his eyes and even if he denied it, he knew that he too, looked at Mark with want in his eyes. 

Despite the looks and questions Mark gave him, Mark never crossed any lines, they rarely touched and they only touched on accident and even then their limbs didn't linger. Mark flirted with him, but it was never over the top or forward and never in front of others, Mark flirted with compliments and if he didn’t recognize the look in Mark's eyes, he would have passed it off as friendly compliments.

“What do you think of me?” Mark questioned.

“What do you mean?” he asked, he stopped looking at the report Taeyong had given him and looked in Mark's direction and he had found that Mark was already looking at him.

“As a man.” He raised an eyebrow, it felt like a moment out of the ‘mangas’ that Yuta had found in the bunker when they first discovered it. 

“Are you being serious or are you just joking with me?” He asked. He put down the report and approached Mark.

“I’m being serious, you don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable,” Mark assured and he laughed at the statement.

“It doesn’t make me uncomfortable, I’m just shocked,” he said, his eyes unwillingly gazing over Mark's body and he didn’t have to look at Mark's face to know he was smirking. “You’re good looking.”

“That’s it?” Mark raised an eyebrow.

“Tell me what this information is for and maybe I’ll give an adequate answer

“I’m convenient and fun,” Mark commented and he at least had the decency to look abash.

“Are you asking me to sleep with you?” Mark looked away and the lighting did little to hide Marks blushing cheeks.

“Depends, what do you think of me as a man?” Mark asked again.

“I like men who are firm and their resolve doesn’t waiver,” he said. “If you’re asking me to sleep with you, then don’t beat around the bush.”

“I want to fuck you,” Mark blurted out. “Or you can fuck me, it doesn’t really matter, whatever you like.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Why?”

“You’re really pretty,” Mark said, a bit breathless. “And you’re fierce and you fight really well and it's hot how you could kill me with your sword before I even realize you drew it to begin with.”

“Why not Koeun?” He asked curiously.

“She’s not exactly my type,” Mark said plainly.

“And I am?”

“Yeah,” Mark said in a low voice and it was only when he felt the tickle of Mark's breath on his cheek that he realized how close they were. Mark lifted a hand to caress his cheek softly and even though Mark had said he wanted to sleep with him, he knew it was more than that, they knew it was more than that. “Is this okay?”

Mark's gaze dropped to his lips and he nodded in response. Mark cupped his cheeks and their lips brushed softly and it sent a shiver down his spine. He brought them closer together and Mark brushed his fingers over his cheek and he nodded in response to Mark. “This is okay.”

\---

Everything was great in the bunker until it wasn’t. 

Well everything was great as it could be living underground with a group of people who all hated each other, but nonetheless things had been the best they could be.

“There's a fungal infection in the crops, I managed to save a few crops that hadn’t been infected but over 95% of them are unsalvageable,” Taeil, their head farmer told him. 

“What’s there to do?” Taeyong asked. 

“I can replant, but it would be at least a year before I can get the farm up and running again,” Taeil looked at everyone but him. It was a common thing for Wonkru to not look at him directly. His people didn’t know the exact protocols for a Red Commander and neither did he, but he didn’t comment. 

“How much time do we have left with the current food supply?” He asked.

“If we ration, the food could last the whole year, but all of the soybean crops were infected. We probably only have a few weeks of soybeans left, a month if we ration well enough,” Taeil said. Most of the food they consumed came from the hydrofarm, their main source of protein came from soybeans and sure the food wasn’t great but it was bearable.

“And then what?” He asked. Nobody spoke up immediately and Taeil just looked down at his fingers. 

Taeil was admirable, he had taken on the hydrofarming project even though it was far more advanced than anything they had ever done on the ground, but Taeil was soft and didn’t know how to just spit the hard truth out.

“We need a protein source, without it, it won’t really matter if we have food, we’ll starve anyway,” Kun, their doctor said.

“Okay, then what are our options?” He asked Kun. “Do we even have any options?”

“Meat, we could eat meat,” Kun said and it would have been a good suggestion had they been on the ground, but they weren’t and they didn’t have any livestock to eat.

“Where are we even supposed to get meat?” His eyes met Kun and the dread on Kuns face made him realize what Kun was saying.

“You want us to eat each other?” he said in a low voice, almost a whisper. “What’s the alternative?”

“We already talked about it and ran some numbers,” Kun made a gesture towards Taeil and Doyoung. “There isn’t really one.”

“And what’s your big plan? We ask people to volunteer?” He asked no one in particular and he heard Taeil let out a deep breathe

“You already do,” Doyoung piped up. “The fighting pits.”

“You want to turn the fighting pits into a slaughterhouse?” He asked, disgusted. One thing was punishing rule breakers and setting examples, but another was _this_. 

“That's not what this is about, it's about survival,” Kun said.

“I can’t force Wonkru to eat their brothers and sisters,” he let out a shaky breath and Taeyong placed a hand on his shoulder that he supposed was meant for comfort, but it was anything but smoothing. It felt like a weight and he didn’t need anymore weights on his shoulder, figurative or literal.

“It's either they all eat or they all don’t. Nobody is going to want to do it, at least not at first. They will all refuse to eat and in a month or two when they all start feeling the effects, they’ll want to do it then, but by then it’ll be too late, they’ll be to thin to-”

“Stop,” he shook his head. “I don’t want to hear this.”

“You need to know that there's no alternative," Kun said

He shook his head, he was eighteen and this isn't what he had signed up for when he agreed to fight in the conclave. He had wielded the sword best, sure, but he didn’t want to be a leader, because a leader made tough choices and unlike all of the previous Commanders, he couldn't hide behind the Wisdom of the Flame when he made a decision. He couldn’t ask the Commanders to guide him or at least pretend to ask, responsibility landed solely on him and it wasn’t fair. 

He wasn't sure if having a _Heda_ would have changed the option pool. Maybe they'd be in the same spot, maybe they would have burned in _Praimfaya_ , but Wonkru wouldn't question a Commanders intentions or a decision and he knew Wonkru would question him and it made the situation even more dreadful, because he knew people would hate him.

“You said they’d refuse,” He said, addressing Kun and Kun slowly nodded in acknowledgement. “Then how do you say we get them to eat?”

“Make it a crime not to,” Kun said, clenching his jaw. Kun had tried to keep a poker face because he knew it was hard on Kun, it would be hard for everyone. “I know this isn’t easy, trust me it wasn’t easy to even suggest this, but it's either this or we die and we’re all in this bunker because we wanted to live.”

Kun had no idea how hard it would be, because even if Kun was the one who came up with the ‘solution’, even if Kun would have to deal with his own guilt, Kun wouldn’t have to be the one to tell Wonkru and enforce it, he would. Only Taeyong, the leader of _Trikru_ before the formation of Wonkru, would even be able to begin to comprehend just how hard this would be and even then Taeyong wouldn’t have to bear it.

\---

“Eat or die? Is that really what you’re going to do now?”Jaemin whispered harshly as he caught up to him. “Why didn’t you tell me about this before you made this horrible decision?”

“Jaemin I really don’t need to hear this from you right now.” He felt horrible as it was and hearing Jaemin question him made it worse.

“Yes you do Donghyuck, people will hate you for this,” Jaemin said like it really mattered. They might hate him, hell even he hated himself for it but there wasn’t an alternative and he couldn’t allow himself to be caught on trivial things such as people liking him.

“You mean you will hate me,” he stopped walking and he turned to face Jaemin. “You have a better idea? Care to enlighten me with your so-called Wisdom of the Commanders, because I don’t know what to do besides this.”

“You can’t just shoot everyone who refuses to eat,” Jaemin said scrunching up his face. “It’s inhuman.”

“I don’t need to explain myself to you Jaemin, I am doing what I’m doing for a reason. If you got your head out of the ‘Spirit of the Commanders’ ass you would understand.”

“You mock my faith, but you know that you believed once too,”Jaemin said. Faith was a silly thing, especially faith in the Commanders, they put too much faith in a genetic modification and a computer chip. 

“I haven’t believed in the Commander long before they abandoned us.”

“That’s because you were jealous of Jeno,” Jaemin said mockingly. It was cruel to use Jeno’s death against him, to suggest that he had ever been jealous of Jeno and Jaemin knew that.

“I was in love with Jeno, you asshole. He died because of his blood, he was rung dry of his bone marrow and hung in Polis by the Mountain Men and you dare call me jealous and you dare talk to me like you know the situation I’m in, you dare question me.”

“You say you loved Jeno, but yet you fall in love with another Nightblood.” He scoffed at Jaemins words and Jaemin had the audacity to smirk. He was sure Jaemin had held that one in for a while with the way it glided so easily off of his tongue.

“Fuck you Jaemin,” he spat out. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to calm himself, but it didn’t really work. “I’m dismissing you of your duties, effective immediately. Speak to Taeyong about your reassignment.”

“Wow, I say one thing you don’t like, I tell you the truth and you get rid of me.”

“What you told me was not the truth, it was your opinion. I can’t have someone working under me that gives an opinion without knowing all the facts,” he replied. “Another thing, don’t you dare mention Jeno to me again, or you’ll be thrown in the fighting pit.”

\---

“Why did you share the bunker?” Mark had developed a habit of drawing circles on his arm and it had proven to be quite soothing with all of the problems that had been going on. 

“I knew _Trikru_ couldn’t do it alone,” he said, his voice a bit scratchy and he hoped it got better by tomorrow. “There was no way we were going to be able to run the hydrofarm and I knew we would die within a year, we needed Taeil, but Taeil is nothing if not loyal and I knew he would rather die in _Praimfaya_ then betray his clan.”

“What about the rest of us?” Mark asked.

“ _Trikru_ didn’t deserve it,” he said plainly. “And I needed more than just Taeil’s expertise to survive. I needed people like Kun, Doyoung too. Different clans bring different things to the table and I needed that. Strategically that's what made the most sense, but _Trikru’s_ betrayal was what allowed me to do without regrets.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t chosen because I was the best fighter, I was chosen because Taeyong was unwilling to sacrifice his son,” he shook his head. “Jaemin isn’t a better fighter than me, but he was who the _Trikru_ wanted to fight for us because that's what brought honor onto _Trikru_ , either our leader or their son, but our leader has been injured for some time and the next best was Jaemin.”

“Taeyong used to tell me he thought of me as his own son, but that obviously wasn’t true if I was who he picked as Jaemin’s replacement,” he inhaled deeply and Mark leaned in to rest his head on his shoulder. “And instead of believing in me, in their best warrior, they chose to take the bunker while the conclave was happening and locked everyone else out. They left me for dead. So when Jaemin opened the door against Taeyongs wishes, I knew I had made the right choice.”

“And _Azgeda_? Why did you let us stay if we tried to kill you?”

“If I let _Trikru_ stay, I had to let everyone stay, it wouldn’t have been fair otherwise,” he said. They stayed in silence as Mark continued to draw circles on his arm.

“You’re a _Heda_ ,” Mark said, breaking the silence. It almost sounded sincere, the only thing stopping him from believing Mark was the fact that Mark was a Nightblood, a Nightblood who had yet to ascend but a Nightblood nonetheless. “I mean it, Nightbloods don’t have to worry about leadership skills, because we can always rely on the flame, so we focus on training because if there is one thing that the flame can’t do is elevate our fighting skills drastically. But you have both, you think like the Commanders, better than some if I'm being honest and fight like one too and you don’t even need the flame.”

“That's nice coming from you, but I’m not a Commander. Being compared to one only makes it harder for me to lead because like it or not, my blood is never going to _be_ black. And even the name _Blodheda_ makes it more difficult because I’m not a Red Blooded Commander.”

“Which is what makes you even more remarkable. Our faith dictates that without a True Commander, our clans would never be united and that we would always be at war. But you did it Donghyuck, Commander or not, _Natblida_ or not, you are a leader and your leadership shouldn’t be questioned, not even by yourself.”

“Tell me honestly, do you believe the time of the Commanders is over?” He asked, his voice laced with insecurities. It was easy he realized, to be vulnerable in front of Mark

“I won’t answer directly, because I don’t know what the future holds, there are too many uncertainties. What we need now is a unifier, someone who thinks outside of their own clan and thinks about humanity, what we need is you.”

“Do you really believe that?

“I know that,” Mark said solemnly. “I know it's hard to believe coming from me, but you are what we need.”

Mark stopped drawing circles on Donghyuck’s arm and Mark slid his hand down until Mark's fingers were touching Donghyuck's hand. Donghyuck opened his hand and spread his fingers to allow Mark to slip his own fingers in between.

It was perfect, almost too perfect, but he supposed it didn’t matter for now.

\---

Mark did it on purpose he realized when it was already too late. Mark had sweet talked him and made him think he was safe and he let his guard down like an idiot. 

Mark walked out into the pit, faced adorned with cuts that would soon scar and the silence of the members of Wonkru present was what scared him. The color of Mark's blood contrasted with the white of his face paint and how no one warned him was a clear sign of where the clan's loyalties would lie.

“I’ll kill him,” Taeyong muttered, only loud enough for him to hear.

“You’d have to kill Jaemin too,” he muttered back and Taeyong stilled next to him. There was no way Mark hadn’t received Jaemins help in one way or another. Mark would need Jaemins support to pull this off and someone as calculative as Mark had clearly proven to be, wouldn't have striked without knowing if Jaemin would back him, if Jaemin would even agree to give him the flame.

“I can’t,” Taeyong said so quietly that he almost didn’t hear him.

“You won’t have to,” he said, no elaboration. He rose from his seat and the whispers stopped and he came to realize Mark’s eyes were already on him.

“I have come to take my place as Wonkru’s _Heda_ ,” Mark projected and no one said a word, but if he looked he was sure Johnny would be smirking and how he would like to slap the look off his face, but his fight wasn’t with Johnny even if Johnny did instigate it.

“You’re no _Heda_ , you’re a coward,” He said, starting to descend the spiral of the pit and agreement could be heard from the crowd. “You hid from your conclave, you hid from the Final Conclave, hell you even hid the past year that we’ve been in this bunker.”

“Wonkru follows whoever wields the sword the best,” Mark started simply and he had the urge to reach for his own sword, but he didn’t.

“Wonkru follows whoever proves themselves worthy and even if you wield the sword the best, that doesn’t mean you’re fit to be a leader,” he said.

“Maybe, but with the Spirits of the Commanders I would have the wisdom of all the great Commanders,” Mark replied. “You once said if I wanted to take your place, I’d have to challenge you. Well now I’m challenging you.”

“You think the Spirit of the Commanders will guide you, but the Spirits didn’t choose you, you haven’t risen to the occasion, I have and although I am no true Commander, even if I am no _Natblida_ , I will always be more of a Commander than you will ever be,” he said. “I take you up on your challenge, _Mark kom Wonkru.”_

He stepped off the spiral and he approached Mark, he approached his death. He knew he wouldn’t win against Mark, against a Nightblood because even if he were to kill Mark, even if he were to come out victorious, he knew Wonkru would fall apart because Mark would become a martyr and shortly they wouldn’t follow, because even if he saved 1100 people that should have died, even if he did what no ‘true’ Commander could, his blood was red and Marks was black and that simple fact matter more to Wonkru.

The second Mark's eye locked with him, he realized his second mistake, Mark wasn’t weak, he was. He had fallen so deep and so quickly that he was blind to what Mark truly was, Mark was _Azgeda_ and Mark had played him like a fiddle and he had only himself to blame for that. 

He could expose Mark, bringing up the countless nights Mark had shared his burden of hearing the pleas of the members of the Coalition begging for a Commander to save them and doing nothing. He could talk about Mark's indesire to wield a sword in general, he could share all of the times he had seen Mark cry over things that weren’t even that big of a deal, but he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t share Mark's vulnerability because it was at a risk of looking like more of a fool than he already was, because he was naive to think anything Mark had shown him or shared with him was real.

He drew his sword and so did Mark. Mark striked first, almost striking him but he managed to block Mark at the last moment. Mark was ruthless, but Mark had always been ruthless in battle and it was hard for him to even keep up, but it was okay, he wasn’t intending to win the fight anyways. 

He let Mark disarm him, not too quickly, the people needed a show or they would realize that he was letting Mark win. Only once he was disarmed did Mark hesitate, Mark kicked him in the chest when he didn’t make a move to keep fighting and effectively knocked him down. Mark hovered over him and conflict was evident in Mark's face as Mark hesitated to strike him and if he was naive he would have thought Mark cared about him.

“May the spirit of the Commanders choose you, _Mark kom Wonkru_ .” He said loud enough for only Mark to hear and he was sure people were straining to listen, but he didn’t care. He hoped his words would stick with Mark forever, yet he knew they probably wouldn’t, in a few days _Blodheda_ would be forgotten and Mark would deliver Wonkru to the ground again in a few years. “ _Ai gonplei ste odon._ ”

His fight had been over months ago, when Johnny told him Mark was a Nightblood, he should have ceded his spot because no matter what anyone told him, Wonkru would rather follow a dishonorable _Natblida,_ then the person who saved him. And yet as he bleed out on the cement, he realized his third and final mistake, thinking the time of the Commanders was over.

“ _Yu gonplei nou ste odon,”_ he told Mark and he was pleased at the guilt painted across Mark's face in the form of splatters of red on Mark’s white face paint and he closed his eyes at the sound of a sob he was almost sure belonged to Jaemin, Jaemin didn’t had the right to cry. No one had the right to cry.

“I love you,” he whispered out as Mark twisted the sword he had just driven into his chest.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this, please leave me a comment or a kudos if you did.
> 
> If you watched 'The 100' let me know who your favorite character is/are. Mine are Octavia, Lincoln and Lexa.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/poramarte)


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